Can’t agree with you more. That is the greatest live album I have ever listened to. I remember our babysitter from across the street gave my brother and I a bunch of old albums (I’m talking sometime in mid-seventies…even then I thought of the music as “old”)
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote this on vacation in Italy. Sitting in a cafe with Keith's guitar and Mick on harmonica. They wrote it (dark as it is) about Albert DeSalvo, the purported Boston Strangler. Creeping around, doing people in. Mick had said that the band was having such a happy mellow time on vacation, that he's not sure how they got to writing such a dark song, but it's what came out.
The song, which finally appeared on the 1969 album Let It Bleed, was loosely based on the life of the real Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, who murdered 13 women in that American city from 1962 to 1964. “Midnight Rambler” was a headline that the papers used to describe the killer at the time, and in the song Jagger takes on the persona of a manipulative murderer. Richards called the seven-minute song “a blues opera” and insisted that his unique collaboration with Jagger was such that “nobody else could have written that song.”
Wow! I think Lex is awesome. For someone her age hearing all these rock songs for the first time and totally understanding it all on the first listen is incredible. She picks up on the vibe of each song almost immediately. If not, she's got it figured out by the end of the song. "Keep on truckin'"👍👍
I adore her reaction on this....Yes the back door man mentioned by the Stones and by Led Zeppeln was the guy who snuck in through the back door as the husband left the front one......
Midnight Rambler, is a song about a serial killer, presumably the Boston Strangler. Though the lyrics are controversial, the music is phenomenal! The Rolling Stones are definitely NOT a Pop Rock band. Controversy followed them their whole career. Rock on Brad and Lex!! 🤘
@@mikelucey5035 This is the studio version they're reacting to. Bands don't usually record live...at least since they introduced multi-track tape 60 + years ago. Keith Richards played both lead and rhythm guitar on this track...overdubbing himself. (Brian Jones played congas).
This is the jam. This entire album - ‘Let It Bleed’, is a musical masterpiece. It, along with their album ‘Sticky Fingers’, are my two favorite Stones albums; and definitely in my top 20 albums of all-time.
I love watching these reactions because I feel like this is how the songs were received when they first came out. It just goes to show you that the music is timeless. It's cool to see that people still get it.
Perfect example of how Charlie Watts is driving everything... this is a blues opera, if such a thing is possible. Awesome guitar licks from Keith. Dark subject matter to be sure, Mick seemed to play characters that set the tone for the lyrics and his phrasing.
From "Beggar's Banquet" to "Exile on Main Street," the Rolling Stones didn't record an average song (they ranged from above-average to 'living legends' territory). "Exile on Main Street" is one of the 10 best rock & roll albums of all time.
@@michaelduran8627 "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Magical Mystery Tour," "White Album," "Abbey Road" (all in under 5 years) will probably never be topped for musical innovation, studio/production innovation, and sheer genius. The Stones from "Beggar's Banquet" to "Exile" were prolific and brilliant, but not the best of their era.
@@wadsworthaaron Agreed. Magical Mystery wasn’t really an album. But agreed. I’d also throw in Dark Side, Wish you were here, Animals and The Wall as a killer four album run.
Honorable mention: The Doors. From January 4, 1967 to April 19, 1971 (4years, 3 months, 2 weeks time frame) All six studio albums (with JM), 1 great live album. The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel, Absolutely Live, LA Woman.
What a great song, the Stones were masters of the groove and this is one of their best songs off one of their best albums, Let It Bleed. Another awesome jam of theirs is Can't You Hear Me Knocking, it has one of the dirtiest riffs ever and evolves into an amazing jam with the late, great Bobby Keys ripping it up on Sax. Wow, what an incredible band! Rock On and Enjoy! 🎸
Bobby belongs in the HOF as a sideman for the catastrophe of stuff he played on dating back to Dions Runaround Sue, The Wanderer , and even Barritone sax on Elvis Return To Sender.
Great song, great lyrics, undeniable groove! Stones rule! Dark and unsettling subject matter, but put in a poetic context. The Stones were Blues enthusiasts, and many old blues tunes could have some dark subject matter. Loved y’all’s reaction
Smokin' a big fat spleefer, drinkin' Jack & Coke, shootin' pool, and jamming to "Let It Bleed"...those were the days my friends...those were the days. So glad we survived them, 'cause now we get to re-live those times through Brad & Lex's awesome eyes, ears, and emotions...It just doesn't get any better than this!✌😎
It's a super dark song. Lex got it right, It's about a serial killer, a rapist murderer called The Boston Strangler which makes the repeated 'Don't do that' bridge kind of disturbing.
The Stones were extremely prolific. I believe I own more than 35 of their albums and I'm still missing a few. For a huge juxtaposition to this track, try the trippy "She's a Rainbow" from their album Their Satanic Majesties Request.
Harmonicas sound best when played into a harmonica microphone (to avoid feedback) and run through an amp with good overdrive or distortion. Check out Whammer Jammer by the J. Geils Band.
if you want the whammer hard harp sound yuo have to use a special designed amp for that sound different tubes and so a normal guitar amp dont do the job talked to a guy who plays harp and his amp had real low drivin tubes so no regular el 34 and so he was using some weird tubes from old radio,s
As a music critic, I've always considered the lyrics to be secondary to the music. The seamless time signature transitions in this song and the change in the Drum pattern is super cool. Lex was aware of both of them and she reacted accordingly. Lex is one of the more intuitive REACTORS on You Tube.
My second favorite song in the album. It’s an ode to Jack the Ripper. What’s really good is to see them stretch the song out live when Mick Taylor was in the band. The interplay between Jagger’s harmonica and Mick’s bluesy guitar playing is out of this world.
The Stones are the tightest loosest band ever. Such a fine line, but they somehow keep the train on the tracks. The way they play with the tempo in this one is elite level epic.
It's nice that the song transports you to a different place Brad . Usually it's Lex who first articulates the experience she's being transported to, in her imagination 😀🤩
Amazing track by the Stones I first heard it as a youngster in the mid 80’s. It blew my mind ! The music of the day - Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince my fellow teens listened to didn’t stack up to this tour de force of blues rock in my opinion
This song is one of the best songs ever recorded in my opinion. I wrote about it in an article on heavy metal songs that weren't heavy metal. The perspective, the slow move into the violence, the out of control finale'. And the sweet assed blues riffing.
The Rolling Stones is a rock n roll band but they got a huge blues influence , which they fused together , great band !!! They have a song called Street Fighting Man , back in about 1967 , they refused to play it live anymore because when they would play it , a riot would always break out ! It wasn't until just a few years ago they played it live again , powerful band !!!!!
One of my favourite Stones songs. The suspense and build up after the breakdown still gives me chills and I've been listening to it for decades. The Stones at their darkest and best. Check out the live version from 1969 on their GET YER YA-YA'S OUT. It's even better.
Yes that’s Mick blowing some badass blues harmonica with some distortion on it, probably played through a special harmonica mic into an overdriven tube amplifier. He’s a great blues harp player. Keith has commented about how this song is the quintessential Jagger/Richards composition. He called it a “blues opera”. Lex totally nails it here on the lyrics interpretation, as usual.
I think Lex got it right, "This is an audio story". I think Midnight Rambler is an attempt at a Hitchcockian type horror story. The Midnight Rambler is a serial killer. Jagger is playing the role.
She gets it. She gets the rhythm section. This is probably Charlie's best drumming. He sets the pace. Bill Wyman is alongside. And that is Mick on Harmonica.
The Live versions in 1969 & 1972 on their US tours r amazing. Pretty decent rendition in 71 at The Marquee Club. Mick Taylor again incredible addition to the Group!
If you look at the lyrics, he does appear to be talking about himself. Although most of the song he talks about himself in "The Third Person." We have this type of clue though- I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger The knife-sharpened tippie-toe Or just the shoot 'em dead, brainbell jangler You know, the one you never seen before So if you ever meet the midnight rambler I'm coming down your marble hall Well, he's pouncing like a proud black panther Well, you can say I, I told you so
One of the many, if not the best, tributes to American blues. They were giant fans of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, et al. The Chicago blues scene. There's some great underground film out there of them crashing blues clubs back in the day. Indeed Lex, if you dug this, the live version will get you in the groove, it is low down blues.
Always one of my favorite Stone's tunes, along with GIMME SHELTER, SATISFACTION, YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT, MONKEY MAN, JUST WAITING ON A FRIEND, etc. Yes, this one's about The Boston Strangler.
Check out the live version from Get Ya Ya's Out , or anything from that album for that matter. One of the Stones best , if not one of the best live albums in rock history. imo.
Yeah guys, the Stone were NOT a "Pop" band ever, they were actually BLUES based Rick and roll 😃✌️😋😁 And Lex, you getting better and better with your reactions!!! Great job again. 👌🎸👋🕊️
That's from the album Let it Bleed (which is a great song also). Although it's hard to choose, it may be my favorite Stones album. Monkey Man is a good tune to check out. Loved Lex's impersonation of the vocals. She nailed it.
A eulogy to the Boston Strangler 1969 and the Zodiac Killer. But they turned their back on Brian's fine Delta Blues pickin for stadium rock. Hillside Blues meanders down the same Blues Country rabbit hole. I rate that one as their greatest ever before the triangle of Taylor vs J&R rot set in.
This has been their big live spotlight number for decades. Check out most any of the live UA-cam versions specifically from when Mick Taylor was in the group!! It soars!! And yeah that’s a blues harmonica held close to the microphone 🎙. Jagger is a very good harp player
Dis is da shit. Hoodoo voodoo rock and roll. Keith is at the peak of his creative powers both inventiveness and style and production. Jagger's vocals incredible. The album is an absolute masterpiece. Keith's precision in tempo, phrasing and leads is a tour de force second to none in rock history.
1967.-69 was a tough time for the band. Besides one of the band’s member dying, the get kept getting arrested and being thrown out of countries. They were not allowed to tour here for a few years. Then the Altamount concert where several concert attendees were goers were killed when the Hells Angels started policing the crowd. Jagger wrote Sympathy for the Devil while in jail.
from SONGFACTS: "In this song, Mick Jagger takes on the persona of killer who is stalking his victim. This character calls himself the "midnight rambler" and he seems to relish his notoriety - much like many real-life serial killers." it says that the lyrics may have been inspired by the case of the Boston Strangler.
I think the instrument/effect you are referring to is a slide guitar - taking a steel or glass cylinder and running it up and down the guitar frets which produces a “slide” effect. Common in blues music!
That tonal shift that happens about 3:30 [chef kiss]. That's rock 'n' roll! P.S. Please don't take the song to mean Mick Jagger is really this person. It's a story, and it was designed to shock. It is shocking still.
At the time, (‘68-‘69), the Stones were a favorite target of conservative religious groups, accused of championing “sex, violence and rock’n’roll”…and I think the lads took it upon themselves to write the perfect song to express that! I don’t think it has much of anything to do with The Boston Strangler…”honey, it’s not one of those”…Lex called this “down home delicious”, and it is, until you get further into the lyrics! This version is classic, AND, there are several killer live versions out there, too. There’s nothing like heartfelt rock’n’roll! 😁🎸👍
Keith Richards who co wrote this with Jagger calls this a Blues Opera. It a dark song written while on vacation in the Greek Islands in a beautiful sunny place.
Pretty sure the harmonica was recorded indirectly, i.e rather than harp>mic>desk>tape, the recording path was harp>mic>amp>mic>desk>tape. With the right mic & amp, you'd get a lot of treble roll-off, and the extra compression and distortion from the amp would easily give that "smooth" tone.
I don't know if it was used on this song, but there is something called a "bullet" microphone designed for harmonicas which is used a lot on blues recordings and it can give a "dirty" tone to the harmonica not unlike an overdriven guitar.
When you play Blues on a harmonica you play it differently in a style called Crossharp. That is really just a fancy way of saying that you play most of the notes while breathing IN. Firstly, that makes the note progression a completely different key, eg C harmonica will be in the key of G when played that way, but it also allows you to 'bend' the notes to get a more soulful sound.
Mick Jagger on harmonica and Brian Jones on the slide guitar I believe. Thje Stone started doing just old black American blues and then starte dwriting their own music and this is an amalgamation of those two.
I agree with many people here, the live version is fire!!! Some people theorised it's about Jack the Ripper and I see the vague connection. A classic, LOVE this one 💥
My favourite Stones song, still. The time change from Charlie is seamless…. Can’t believe now when I bought this great album it was only 12 years old. Which seemed to me then like an ICE age away…now 12 years ago is 2010 😳
You MUST checkout the live version from "Get your ya,ya's out, the Rolling Stones in concert". You'll be blown away.
Can’t agree with you more. That is the greatest live album I have ever listened to. I remember our babysitter from across the street gave my brother and I a bunch of old albums (I’m talking sometime in mid-seventies…even then I thought of the music as “old”)
100% or any video of them playing it live.
MSG N.Y. 1969, Nothing else quite measures up does it? Cheers Suzy!
Nothing can top the Brussels Affair version from Oct 1973 also the Roundhouse version from 1971.
Midnight Rambler /Ya Yas / definitive!!!
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote this on vacation in Italy. Sitting in a cafe with Keith's guitar and Mick on harmonica. They wrote it (dark as it is) about Albert DeSalvo, the purported Boston Strangler. Creeping around, doing people in. Mick had said that the band was having such a happy mellow time on vacation, that he's not sure how they got to writing such a dark song, but it's what came out.
The song, which finally appeared on the 1969 album Let It Bleed, was loosely based on the life of the real Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, who murdered 13 women in that American city from 1962 to 1964. “Midnight Rambler” was a headline that the papers used to describe the killer at the time, and in the song Jagger takes on the persona of a manipulative murderer. Richards called the seven-minute song “a blues opera” and insisted that his unique collaboration with Jagger was such that “nobody else could have written that song.”
My favorite Stones album.
Songs like this are why I have loved the Stones since the sixties.
Wow! I think Lex is awesome. For someone her age hearing all these rock songs for the first time and totally understanding it all on the first listen is incredible. She picks up on the vibe of each song almost immediately. If not, she's got it figured out by the end of the song. "Keep on truckin'"👍👍
I adore her reaction on this....Yes the back door man mentioned by the Stones and by Led Zeppeln was the guy who snuck in through the back door as the husband left the front one......
😢😢😅😅@@margaretflounders8510
She is indeed
Midnight Rambler, is a song about a serial killer, presumably the Boston Strangler. Though the lyrics are controversial, the music is phenomenal! The Rolling Stones are definitely NOT a Pop Rock band. Controversy followed them their whole career. Rock on Brad and Lex!! 🤘
“Honey, it’s not one of those…” Just sayin’ : )
I remember when Lets Spend the Night Together was banned from the radio. The song was the B side of the 45RPM single. the A side was Ruby Tuesday.
from what i heard the rolling stones sold their souls to satan
@@johnnycarter2283 that's what I heard about Eric Crapton... Clapton, lol.
The most dangerous band in rock and roll. What they used to call the Rolling Stones.
That's why they are called the greatest Rock n roll band ever.
i love how lex always finds FLAVOR in every song, lol. & yes there r many different types of harmonicas, many sizes, in different keys, etc.
When the Stones were dangerous ! ☘️✌️Saw them in Foxboro 2019. They still rocked harder than bands half their age. RIP Charlie 😢
Mick is playing the harmonica, an E tuned harp. The song is in B major key so he's keeping to the bottom three or four holes.
On this? The studio, sure.
@@mikelucey5035 This is the studio version they're reacting to. Bands don't usually record live...at least since they introduced multi-track tape 60 + years ago. Keith Richards played both lead and rhythm guitar on this track...overdubbing himself. (Brian Jones played congas).
@@John_Chu good info>>
This is the jam. This entire album - ‘Let It Bleed’, is a musical masterpiece. It, along with their album ‘Sticky Fingers’, are my two favorite Stones albums; and definitely in my top 20 albums of all-time.
some girls
Exile on mainstreet
Black and Blue
@@thomassamburgh5904 it's the stones version of revolver
You nailed it.
I love watching these reactions because I feel like this is how the songs were received when they first came out. It just goes to show you that the music is timeless. It's cool to see that people still get it.
One of the Rolling Stones' darker songs... their simplicity and drive are just remarkable.
Perfect example of how Charlie Watts is driving everything... this is a blues opera, if such a thing is possible. Awesome guitar licks from Keith. Dark subject matter to be sure, Mick seemed to play characters that set the tone for the lyrics and his phrasing.
The way he plays with the tempo is elite.
Lex cracks me up. I love her comparisons to food, etc when she hears the music. You never know what she is going to say
From "Beggar's Banquet" to "Exile on Main Street," the Rolling Stones didn't record an average song (they ranged from above-average to 'living legends' territory). "Exile on Main Street" is one of the 10 best rock & roll albums of all time.
Maybe the best four album run in rock history.
@@michaelduran8627 and in the middle , one of the greatest live albums of all time
@@michaelduran8627 "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Magical Mystery Tour," "White Album," "Abbey Road" (all in under 5 years) will probably never be topped for musical innovation, studio/production innovation, and sheer genius.
The Stones from "Beggar's Banquet" to "Exile" were prolific and brilliant, but not the best of their era.
@@wadsworthaaron Agreed. Magical Mystery wasn’t really an album. But agreed. I’d also throw in Dark Side, Wish you were here, Animals and The Wall as a killer four album run.
Honorable mention: The Doors. From January 4, 1967 to April 19, 1971 (4years, 3 months, 2 weeks time frame) All six studio albums (with JM), 1 great live album.
The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel, Absolutely Live, LA Woman.
What a great song, the Stones were masters of the groove and this is one of their best songs off one of their best albums, Let It Bleed. Another awesome jam of theirs is Can't You Hear Me Knocking, it has one of the dirtiest riffs ever and evolves into an amazing jam with the late, great Bobby Keys ripping it up on Sax. Wow, what an incredible band! Rock On and Enjoy! 🎸
Bobby belongs in the HOF as a sideman for the catastrophe of stuff he played on dating back to Dions Runaround Sue, The Wanderer , and even Barritone sax on Elvis Return To Sender.
Can’t you hear me knocking is one of my all time Stones favorites. Along with Gimme Shelter when Mary Clayton voice cracks
Great song, great lyrics, undeniable groove!
Stones rule!
Dark and unsettling subject matter, but put in a poetic context. The Stones were Blues enthusiasts, and many old blues tunes could have some dark subject matter.
Loved y’all’s reaction
Brad & Lex, you'll lov their "Honky Tonk Women", "Lets Spend The Night Together" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want"(NOT live) !!
Smokin' a big fat spleefer, drinkin' Jack & Coke, shootin' pool, and jamming to "Let It Bleed"...those were the days my friends...those were the days. So glad we survived them, 'cause now we get to re-live those times through Brad & Lex's awesome eyes, ears, and emotions...It just doesn't get any better than this!✌😎
It's a super dark song. Lex got it right, It's about a serial killer, a rapist murderer called The Boston Strangler which makes the repeated 'Don't do that' bridge kind of disturbing.
Nope. Not the Boston Strangler. Listen to the lyrics..."You've heard about the Boston. Honey, its not one of "those".
The Stones were extremely prolific. I believe I own more than 35 of their albums and I'm still missing a few. For a huge juxtaposition to this track, try the trippy "She's a Rainbow" from their album Their Satanic Majesties Request.
I love that song, and always assumed it was a Beatles parody… like the Beatles parodied the Beach Boys with Back in the USSR.
Harmonicas sound best when played into a harmonica microphone (to avoid feedback) and run through an amp with good overdrive or distortion. Check out Whammer Jammer by the J. Geils Band.
Also check out Blues Traveler. The guys a virtuoso on the harp.
If I'm not mistaken, I hear a good bit of reverb applied to it.
Whammer Jammer absolutely one of a kind. Even songs that rely heavily on the harmonica don't sound like that.
if you want the whammer hard harp sound yuo have to use a special designed amp for that sound
different tubes and so a normal guitar amp dont do the job talked to a guy who plays harp and his amp had real low drivin tubes so no regular el 34 and so he was using some weird tubes from old radio,s
Arguably the greatest, hardest working, and most prolific rock and roll band!!
I just love the psychedelic metaphors Lex uses to describe music.
As a music critic, I've always considered the lyrics to be secondary to the music.
The seamless time signature transitions in this song and the change in the Drum pattern is super cool.
Lex was aware of both of them and she reacted accordingly.
Lex is one of the more intuitive REACTORS on You Tube.
It’s not a time sig change.. just a tempo change
Says so much about music critics DOSENT it
One of their very best songs, and one of my favorites.
Song about a serial killer.
The live version from Get Yer YaYa’s Out is the best version by far and def worth a listen.
My second favorite song in the album. It’s an ode to Jack the Ripper. What’s really good is to see them stretch the song out live when Mick Taylor was in the band. The interplay between Jagger’s harmonica and Mick’s bluesy guitar playing is out of this world.
The Stones are the tightest loosest band ever. Such a fine line, but they somehow keep the train on the tracks. The way they play with the tempo in this one is elite level epic.
It's nice that the song transports you to a different place Brad . Usually it's Lex who first articulates the experience she's being transported to, in her imagination 😀🤩
Amazing track by the Stones
I first heard it as a youngster in the mid 80’s. It blew my mind !
The music of the day - Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince my fellow teens listened to didn’t stack up to this tour de force of blues rock in my opinion
This song is one of the best songs ever recorded in my opinion. I wrote about it in an article on heavy metal songs that weren't heavy metal. The perspective, the slow move into the violence, the out of control finale'. And the sweet assed blues riffing.
The Rolling Stones is a rock n roll band but they got a huge blues influence , which they fused together , great band !!! They have a song called Street Fighting Man , back in about 1967 , they refused to play it live anymore because when they would play it , a riot would always break out ! It wasn't until just a few years ago they played it live again , powerful band !!!!!
One of my favourite Stones songs. The suspense and build up after the breakdown still gives me chills and I've been listening to it for decades. The Stones at their darkest and best.
Check out the live version from 1969 on their GET YER YA-YA'S OUT. It's even better.
Yes that’s Mick blowing some badass blues harmonica with some distortion on it, probably played through a special harmonica mic into an overdriven tube amplifier. He’s a great blues harp player.
Keith has commented about how this song is the quintessential Jagger/Richards composition. He called it a “blues opera”.
Lex totally nails it here on the lyrics interpretation, as usual.
I think Lex got it right, "This is an audio story". I think Midnight Rambler is an attempt at a Hitchcockian type horror story. The Midnight Rambler is a serial killer. Jagger is playing the role.
She gets it. She gets the rhythm section. This is probably Charlie's best drumming. He sets the pace. Bill Wyman is alongside.
And that is Mick on Harmonica.
The Live versions in 1969 & 1972 on their US tours r amazing. Pretty decent rendition in 71 at The Marquee Club. Mick Taylor again incredible addition to the Group!
Awesome! Rolling Stones. A legend that never dies!
Lex you are right about meaning of this song. I've ready books about the Rolling Stones. this song is about a killer !
There are many different kind of harmonicas and yes, Mick's using one in the song.
Amazing as is. Hearing it live however, is even 10 times better.
If you look at the lyrics, he does appear to be talking about himself. Although most of the song he talks about himself in "The Third Person." We have this type of clue though-
I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger
The knife-sharpened tippie-toe
Or just the shoot 'em dead, brainbell jangler
You know, the one you never seen before
So if you ever meet the midnight rambler
I'm coming down your marble hall
Well, he's pouncing like a proud black panther
Well, you can say I, I told you so
And honey it’s no rock n roll show.
One of the many, if not the best, tributes to American blues. They were giant fans of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, et al. The Chicago blues scene. There's some great underground film out there of them crashing blues clubs back in the day. Indeed Lex, if you dug this, the live version will get you in the groove, it is low down blues.
I love the blues Rock n Roll style. Rock on Brad & Lex
One of my favourite Stones songs. Great reaction!
This song is badass
Awesome choice! I've always been a huge Stones fan and this is the epitome of the Stones for me.
I completely love you two. Your chemistry is magic. I feel y'all hit your sweet spot listening to classic rock. Keep it up and give us more reactions.
Brad & Lex: Great Reaction! I think were ready for a killer Stones rocker. We need to do (Monkey Man) next.
Drums, bass, Richards on rhythm guitar and slide guitar, Jagger on vocals and harmonica. Peak Stones here. All-time classic hit-and-run raper brainbell jangler sinister blues.
The ultimate Halloween song.
Just listened to Moonlight Mile forgot how much i loved that song and this one too. ❤️❤️❤️ Stones
Always one of my favorite Stone's tunes, along with GIMME SHELTER, SATISFACTION, YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT, MONKEY MAN, JUST WAITING ON A FRIEND, etc. Yes, this one's about The Boston Strangler.
This has to be listened to live. When i go to see the Stones, Rambler is the one i look forward to the most. Live it is just phenominal.
I grew up with this stuff. Whilst always considering it great, I really kind of got burned out on it. I forgot what a great song this is.
Check out the live version from Get Ya Ya's Out , or anything from that album for that matter.
One of the Stones best , if not one of the best live albums in rock history. imo.
wow, the hair on neck and arms stood up. that was amazing song. thanks for sharing.
Yeah guys, the Stone were NOT a "Pop" band ever, they were actually BLUES based Rick and roll 😃✌️😋😁
And Lex, you getting better and better with your reactions!!! Great job again. 👌🎸👋🕊️
I have to add this: I've heard people say that anyone could have written "Satisfaction", but only Jagger/Richards could have come up with this tune.
Brad and Lex with that realization. You guys are getting good at this.
The live version blows the studio version away.
I liked how she reacted to the time signature change.
Hell Ya !!!! They have soooooo many great songs from da Blues to Funk to Disco to even Country !
That's from the album Let it Bleed (which is a great song also). Although it's hard to choose, it may be my favorite Stones album. Monkey Man is a good tune to check out.
Loved Lex's impersonation of the vocals. She nailed it.
That was the best harmonica I ever heard back then and remains the best harmonica I ever heard still!
A eulogy to the Boston Strangler 1969 and the Zodiac Killer. But they turned their back on Brian's fine Delta Blues pickin for stadium rock. Hillside Blues meanders down the same Blues Country rabbit hole. I rate that one as their greatest ever before the triangle of Taylor vs J&R rot set in.
The Midnight Rambler, the Boston Strangler.
This has been their big live spotlight number for decades.
Check out most any of the live UA-cam versions specifically from when Mick Taylor was in the group!!
It soars!!
And yeah that’s a blues harmonica held close to the microphone 🎙. Jagger is a very good harp player
Check out Play With Fire, Wild Horses and 2000 Man. Lex is like one of those old light boxes that when plugged in, react to the music. ✌️
You have to listen to any of the numerous live versions of this. The one on Get Yer Yayas Out is excellent!
Your reaction to this song is hilarious! And yes, it is quite a shocking story.
This song and Night Prowler by AC/DC are my two favorite 'horror movie as rock' songs.
I highly recommend you listen to "Exile on Main Street".
This title reminds me of another song you should react to. Gregg Allman - "Midnight Rider"
Dis is da shit. Hoodoo voodoo rock and roll. Keith is at the peak of his creative powers both inventiveness and style and production. Jagger's vocals incredible. The album is an absolute masterpiece. Keith's precision in tempo, phrasing and leads is a tour de force second to none in rock history.
1967.-69 was a tough time for the band. Besides one of the band’s member dying, the get kept getting arrested and being thrown out of countries. They were not allowed to tour here for a few years. Then the Altamount concert where several concert attendees were goers were killed when the Hells Angels started policing the crowd. Jagger wrote Sympathy for the Devil while in jail.
from SONGFACTS: "In this song, Mick Jagger takes on the persona of killer who is stalking his victim. This character calls himself the "midnight rambler" and he seems to relish his notoriety - much like many real-life serial killers." it says that the lyrics may have been inspired by the case of the Boston Strangler.
I think the instrument/effect you are referring to is a slide guitar - taking a steel or glass cylinder and running it up and down the guitar frets which produces a “slide” effect. Common in blues music!
That tonal shift that happens about 3:30 [chef kiss]. That's rock 'n' roll! P.S. Please don't take the song to mean Mick Jagger is really this person. It's a story, and it was designed to shock. It is shocking still.
👍Yeah, the Stones were heavily influenced by "The Blues" ... The real old school blues bands, guitarists, harp players.
Brad's face when she says 'Corned Beef' is spot-on what I (and probably many others) were feeling.
At the time, (‘68-‘69), the Stones were a favorite target of conservative religious groups, accused of championing “sex, violence and rock’n’roll”…and I think the lads took it upon themselves to write the perfect song to express that! I don’t think it has much of anything to do with The Boston Strangler…”honey, it’s not one of those”…Lex called this “down home delicious”, and it is, until you get further into the lyrics!
This version is classic, AND, there are several killer live versions out there, too. There’s nothing like heartfelt rock’n’roll! 😁🎸👍
Lexi's gettin the beat. 🙃
Keith Richards who co wrote this with Jagger calls this a Blues Opera. It a dark song written while on vacation in the Greek Islands in a beautiful sunny place.
It's a harmonica miked and warm with passion.
Boston
Peace on earth.
Pretty sure the harmonica was recorded indirectly, i.e rather than harp>mic>desk>tape, the recording path was harp>mic>amp>mic>desk>tape. With the right mic & amp, you'd get a lot of treble roll-off, and the extra compression and distortion from the amp would easily give that "smooth" tone.
Greatest Rock N Roll band ever 🎸🤘✌️👍
I don't know if it was used on this song, but there is something called a "bullet" microphone designed for harmonicas which is used a lot on blues recordings and it can give a "dirty" tone to the harmonica not unlike an overdriven guitar.
Love this song, I always play it when I am Pissed Off.
The worlds Greatest Rock & Roll band
When you play Blues on a harmonica you play it differently in a style called Crossharp. That is really just a fancy way of saying that you play most of the notes while breathing IN. Firstly, that makes the note progression a completely different key, eg C harmonica will be in the key of G when played that way, but it also allows you to 'bend' the notes to get a more soulful sound.
The live version on the album "get your ya ya's out" is a superior version.
Mick Jagger on harmonica and Brian Jones on the slide guitar I believe. Thje Stone started doing just old black American blues and then starte dwriting their own music and this is an amalgamation of those two.
I love a cornbeef sandwich with lots of mustard too mmm ❤
Hahahaha
*corned
I have seen these guys 7 times. I am pretty sure they do this every time and live… This song kicks a$$
Mabey one of best the bluestrack from stones
I agree with many people here, the live version is fire!!! Some people theorised it's about Jack the Ripper and I see the vague connection. A classic, LOVE this one 💥
My favourite Stones song, still. The time change from Charlie is seamless….
Can’t believe now when I bought this great album it was only 12 years old. Which seemed to me then like an ICE age away…now 12 years ago is 2010 😳
I remember this on the Radio as The live version. Live recording Iive at the Marqez is a killer. The Midnight Ramble a Knife sharpened tippi toe.